The Hero's Requiem
by EndlessLabyrinth
Summary: Five years have passed since the events of Twilight Princess. Hyrule continues to rebuild and repair and the events from the twilight slowly trickles away from the people's memory. But what happens when a force meant to be on par with the world's hero comes to reclaim his power?
1. Chapter 1

Preface

It is five years since the Dark Lord Ganondorf was defeated by the Hero of Hyrule: Link. Hyrule has, more or less, returned to normal with only the occasional whisper to remind citizens of the past tragedy. Princess Zelda continues to rebuild her kingdom and has set up a new military defense system that put Link in charge of all protection around the kingdom. Because of his new position, Link has new residence in Hyrule's castle town, right in the middle of the town square. He shares his abode with his childhood friend and newly engaged girlfriend, Ilia.

For the past five years, both have worked vigorously to rebuild broken buildings, restore lost loved ones, and re-tell the story of the war for surrounding villages for documentation's and reassurances sake. Through their journey, they became even closer than before and have finally started to make future plans, much to the excitement of Hyrule's new found fan club for their hero. For the past five years, all has been, more or less, well.

But there is another side. During the dark lord Ganondorf's rise to power, he studied Hyrule's great hero thought his journey and became jealous of his seemingly in-bred abilities. Ganondorf was greatly unsatisfied with his associate, King Zant, and secretly fashioned himself a new follower to do his bidding. He shaped his new comrade in the image of his enemy; he made a Dark Link.

However, this Link was different from his original in every way. He was stronger, he was darker, he was faster, and he was made with a passion to kill. It was the hopes of Ganondorf to use this new being to defeat the true link, his only obstacle in ruling Hyrule, once and for all. Little did Ganondorf expect, however, that by creating a super powered being meant he had the ability to think and act on his own free will. Dark Link quickly learned he was being used as a slave and ran away in the dead of night from the reigns of his lord Ganondorf.

This dark being has lived in the shadows all this time. Waiting. Strategizing. Anticipating the day he and the true Link meet so he can do what he was made to do: Kill the weak Link. And take the power that belongs to him. Take control of Hyrule castle.

_~.~.~._

_Whoosh!_

Link dodged the swipe of his doppelgangers sword for what felt like the umpteenth time, missing the deadly weapon by less than an inch. The only problem with this maneuver was the awkward way his body had to spin to avoid it. It ended with the side of his face resting awkwardly on the grassy field of northern Hyrule, his ankle burning white hot from the sudden pain of it being forced out of its socket. Link tried unsuccessfully to suppress the soft grunt of pain at his newest addition to his list of injuries.

Somewhere beyond the ringing in his ears he dimly heard the sound of methodical laughter. "Look at you. You're so pathetic" the figure next to him taunted. Link looked up at him defiantly meeting his gaze. Yet once again he was taken aback at how much his opponent looked like him.

They both had the same hair, the same body, and the same weapons… the same skills albeit Link's doppelganger's features were much darker, black some might say and his eyes were the most brilliant red, staring Link down with no hint on mercy. But the most obvious difference was Dark Link's way of execution. Link was a fantastic swordsman but he followed the rules of swordplay almost too well, never trying to take advantage of the obvious weak spots of an opponent and unfairly denying them a chance of winning. Dark Link was the exact opposite, he knew of his enemy's weak spots and targeted them, used them to his advantage, and didn't hesitate to made cheap tricks on the battlefield. He knew all of Link's weaknesses: they were his own.

Dark Link stared at the fallen hero with a look of taunting satisfaction, twirling his sword lightly at his side. "funny how this so called 'Hero of Hyrule' can down fierce beasts three times his size and yet, he cannot defeat little ol' me."

He purposefully nudged Link's broken ankle, making the man hiss in pain, and placed his muddy boot on the hero's chest. "What's the matter? Growing weak in your old age? Out of practice? Surely your dear princess Zelda keeps you busy in the guard! Doesn't she give her soldiers training? Or maybe duties? Some purpose? Or do you just spend your days guarding a castle that never sees action? Funny how only a few short years weakens you so much. What a pity." He smiled, satisfied at the irritated look on Link's face, "It's too bad your princess isn't here to see you now. She might have offered an apology for her stupidity." He continued to taunt.

Through the still stinging sensation in his ankle and the suffocating pressure on his chest, Link stared back at his dark clone, "Are you finished?" He sneered.

Dark Link smiled at his opponent's attitude, taking it as the call for the battle to continue. "Ready when you are" He teased.

Link didn't want to justify his childlike banter with a response so instead, with the remaining strength left in his left arm, he swung his master sword and gripped it hard as it hit his enemy's, vibrating hard on impact.

The battle continued, filling Link with another kick of adrenaline and newfound strength to block and attack his enemy, despite his ankle's painful protest every time it hit the ground. The only problem was, Link realized, his enemy didn't need another boost of energy; he was still going nearly as strong as when they had first begun, _nearly an hour ago_, according to the sun and his fatigue level. As Link dodged a well-placed ground slice from Dark Link and countered with a powerful helm-splitter that did little damage, he remembered exactly where his dark enemy received his great power. Ganondorf. The wielder of the triforce of power, coincidently enough.

His _power_ was one of the first things Dark Link boasted about at the beginning of their fray that Ganondorf held the honor of creating him. After seeing what Link was capable of he wanted the same swordsmen with the same abilities, only enhanced, as his right hand man. Little did he know the consequences of his actions…

Link was pulled from his reminiscing by the none-too-gentle swipe of Dark Link's blade to his right shoulder. Down he fell once more onto his knees in the cool grass, his blood dripping down his forearm and painting the green a sparkling crimson. Link was given a few seconds to recover before the black blade entered his vision once more. Link quickly rolled over, careful not to let go of his only useful weapon and, with the first good bit of luck, swiped his blade hard and pierced Dark Link's lower thigh, making him crumble to the ground crying out at the pain. Link's heart leaped at the sight of the man's sword drop from his grasp. Grabbing his enemy's fallen sword out of the grass, Link dove over Dark Link's sprawled limbs, until he found the man's front and threateningly placed his swords just inches from his dark double's dirty face.

The two men froze. Link could not move because, for what felt like the first time this evening, he had the upper hand and he held onto it like a mother to her child, not daring to risk losing it. Dark Link could not move because as soon as he did he would have to face Link's sword, and the consequences that would occur because of it.

Then, when neither moved, Dark Link's face merged into a horrible, sly grin and his body shook with a condescending laughter, "You really can't do it can you?" his words dripping with sick elation "You can't kill me. Even when you have every reason too. Even when I am defenseless. _Even_ when your common sense is screaming to convince yourself that this is the right thing to do" He paused, the blood-curdling smile still plastered on his handsome face. And the worst parts of his words were they were all one hundred percent true. Link could not kill this man in front of him. A defenseless warrior with no way to gain the upper hand. A fallen man on death's door just because of where Link was holding his sword.

He could not do it. He could not swing his weapon. All he could do was stand there, crouched in attack position; swords still placed, and try not to show how much Dark Link's words were cutting him.

"You are weak!" Dark Link screamed, sounding angry for the first time. "And for that you will suffer, dearest hero"

Quicker than Link would ever remember, Dark Link took the uninjured leg that was closest to Link and kicked it high, slamming the heel of his boot in the hero's lower jaw. Link stumbled backwards, dropping both his swords out of surprise, and brought his hands up to his searing jaw. With the opportunity now open, Dark Link grabbed his black blade and, showing nothing but enraged excitement in his eyes, aimed the blade directly for the hero's heart.

"Silly Link," He said just loud enough for his enemy to hear him, "always following the rules"

With a yell fueled with rage and excitement, the dark doppelganger plunged his blade directly into the hero of Hyrule's chest. The sword poking out the back end of Link's body just underneath the ribcage below his beating heart. "That's why I'm here. Someone's got to play the rebel" Dark Link whispered in the hero's ear.

Link gasped.

His hands gripped for the sword in his chest.

Then he felt it. Pain exploded in his mind, making it unable to think. His body sent waves and waves of jolting white-hot razors from his abdomen, freezing his body where it was. The hero crumbled to his knees, his mouth open in a silent scream. Dark Link had followed to knee-height, his hand never leaving the hilt of the sword and the triumphant smile never leaving his face. Drinking in the surprised, pained look on the hero's face, Dark Link got a wave of euphoria that caused him to squeeze the hilt of the sword and twist the impaled blade one hundred and eighty degrees in Link's body.

At this sudden change of events, Link's brain finally got a message to his vocal chords and from his body came a blood-curdling scream of such suffering that the triumphant expression on Dark link's face faltered ever so slightly. He had never heard such a cry of desperation uttered from any of his victims before. But then again, he had never drawn out the kill this long before, and nor had he ever enjoyed the thrill of the hunt as much as now.

Link's ear-shattering cries rang in the night as Dark Link forcibly removed his blood-stained blade from the hero's chest. The hero grabbed blindly at his bleeding wound and crumbled to the ground.

Dark Link took a deep breath and stood tall before the bleeding man, looking down at him condescendingly, "And so the hero has fallen. Oh, and look. It's even started to drizzle for you, how poetic."

Sure enough just as he said it Link felt the droplets of water sprinkle lightly on his face. Dark Link laughed at the hero's science and dropped down to his eye level, "And so a new era for Hyrule begins. The Triforce of power is mine; you and Ganondorf are out of the way; and Hyrule castle is ripe for the picking. It's almost too easy." He paused letting his successes sink in, "but don't worry, I'll make sure all of Hyrule knows what happened here tonight and how _I_ came to power. I'll take good care of them. I'll even make a special trip to Ordon village just for you, Link. Oh! And what about that girl that's always on your mind? What did you say her name was? Ilia? I'll make sure to give her your regards as well. Who knows, I might even go so far as to make her my queen. We'll see how things pan out." He snickered.

Link listened to his speech in utter horror, trying to block out his speech, yet unable to concentrate hard enough. But at the last promise, Link gathered a few remaining fractions of his energy and managed to successfully spit his blood and saliva in his enemy's face, his face as hard as stone and as angry as a caged lion.

Dark Link's anger flared up as he whipped the bloody liquid from his face. He used his soiled hand to punch Link hard in the face, forcing his head to the side and another scream of pain from his mouth. "Good riddance hero, enjoy burning in hell!"

"I'll… c-count the day's t-till you join m-me, you _bastard_!" Link managed through clenched teeth and rapidly dwindling strength.

Dark Link huffed at his words and made his way across the field towards Hyrule, where Princess Zelda and her people could be found, leaving the bleeding hero alone to die.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**First time here posting something for LoZ. I wrote this a while ago too so hopefully I didn't screw Link or Dark Link up too badly. **

**Thank you for reading! The next chapt should be posted within the week. **


	2. Chapter 2

_Dark Link huffed at his words and made his way across the field towards Hyrule, where Princess Zelda and her people could be found, leaving the bleeding hero alone to die..._

Alone, Link lay. Blood pouring out of his chest. But not fast enough to tell Link that his heart had been punctured. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen. Still, as he gazed up at the night sky, hands still gently pressing on his wound, Link let his brow crease realization. He was dying.

He didn't want to die. He wanted to live to see another day. He wanted to wake up tomorrow morning next to Ilia and breathe in the air of Ordon village. He wanted to grow old and watch his children accomplish great things. But most of all, he wanted to watch that sick bastard of his shadow self die at his own hand. He wanted to watch the light leave his eyes and watch the realization of his own downfall play across his face.

With a surge of angry passion, Link turned his head around and spotted his pack sitting in the ground no more than sixty feet away. To Link in his present condition however, it might have been in Kakariko Village. Link tried to force himself to calm down his racing heart. It seemed as though that his body knew it was dying and his heart was trying rapidly to make sure that didn't happen. Blood continued to seep out of the hole in his chest.

He took one deep, calming breath that succeeded in a searing pain to his abdomen. As he suppressed a scream, only one thing entered his mind: Ilia. Her face, her smell, her smile, and an encouraging nod: her urging him to keep moving and not give up. Link dimly knew it wasn't real, that Ilia was safely in Kakariko Village but nevertheless, he clung to her form for dear life, using the memory to strengthen him.

He tried to stand. He tumbled to the ground as soon as he put weight on his bad ankle. It seems to have gotten worse with the company of other more daunting wounds. But Link knew he couldn't give up… not now. If he could just get to his pack, he might still have a chance. He tried again, this time getting into a crawl position and scuttling on all fours, with one hand still pressed firmly on his chest trying to quench the blood flow.

The trek to his pack was one of the most painful things Link could have ever imagined. Each step was met with tearing waves of pain from his protesting body. Each time his knee moved forward, Link's stomach did painful flip flops until the waves of nausea was too much. Link painfully retched up a mixture of blood and contents from his stomach. He took a moment, breathing heavily trying to regain his sense of equilibrium.

Finally, after what seemed link hours, Link's outstretched arm found the strap of his sac. Link nearly laughed in relief and let himself crumble to the soft ground.

His hand fumbled with the latch and, once opened, dug around, praying he still had at least a little red potion left. His hands found the jar and he lifted it out and into his line of sight. The jar was one quarter full of a dark crimson liquid that resembled the texture of maple syrup. His spirits sank somewhat seeing the nearly empty bottle but, nevertheless, he gulped the remaining liquid with a powerful hunger. As Link felt the thick liquid travel down his throat, he felt the potion's effects almost immediately. First, the relief went to his broken ankle, dulling the pain almost entirely, and then he felt his jaw straighten out and relax. Finally, the remaining life force from the potion made its way to his chest sealing part of his skin back together and quenching some of the blood flow. It by no way healed the wound entirely but the momentary lack of pain in the rest of his body gave the hero a flicker of newfound hope.

Now, with new energy, Link turned back to his pack and searched for the one item that could, perhaps, truly save him. _Ah-ha!_ Link thought dizzily as his hand touched something smooth and rounded: Epona's whistle! He gathered the item, pressed the instrument to his mouth, and blew into it as hard as his lungs could muster. A loud, yet soft tune manifested from the whistle, the familiar notes coming easily to the hero who had performed them so many times before. His horse was his last hope. The only thing he could do was call her to him and hope for the best.

The last note of the song rang in the distance. Link paused, unwilling to make a sound, for fear it would extinguish that of Epona. He waited. Still nothing. _What was taking so long? _He thought, letting his left hand fall to the ground, it hadn't ever taken this long in the past? Or had it and Link was starting to hallucinate due to blood loss? He didn't know. All he could do was wait. He tried to turn around into a more comfortable position, twisting his body to face the sky.

A pleasant warmth started working it's was across the hero's limbs, relaxing them. His head felt soft underneath the blanket of grass. _Almost like a pillow_, Link thought. He dimly wondered if he should be worried that he couldn't feel his legs anymore, but he paid it no mind. Now his ankle didn't hurt so much.

Link watched the moving clouds in deep wonder, fascinated at how they rolled over the stars, temporally blocking their glow. It reminded him of the twilight that purged Hyrule of its glow so many years ago, and how it was he, Link, the hero of Hyrule who managed to blow it away. Only with the help of his friends of course… like Midna. Her name brought hundreds of memories flying across Link's tired mind. When they first met, all the nights they spent talking, the time when he finally faced Ganondorf, the time he thought he almost lost her. As her image floated in his mind, he wondered what she was doing right now, if she was safe, if she was happy. All Link could do was hope. Hope, and keep reminding himself to take that next breath.

It was a strange sensation: dying. He could actually feel part of himself slip away, feel his mind zone in and out of reality until all he could feel was a dull burn in his upper abdomen and hear a soft ringing in his ears. He was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him, for he knew the sky never turned purple, nor did the world ever spin so fast like it was now. As Link closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the horrible spinning, his heart felt heavy. He really didn't want to die, but what else could he do at this point. He was all alone, his last hope had failed and his remaining strength was flowing out of him as fast as his blood.

He opened his eyes once more to get one last look at his beloved Hyrule sky, then, with a mixture of sadness and sweet relief, the hero of Hyrule let his eyes and mind fall into blessed darkness.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**Sorry. I've got this strange mind that loves fluff one day, then brutal torture the next. But any sorts of feedback of if i should continue this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for clicking and reading!**


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